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October 8, 2009

"South Koreans outraged over sentencing in child rape cases"

The title of this post is the headline of this notable article in the Los Angeles Times reporting upon a notable sex offender sentencing debate going on in another part of the world. Here are the details:

A series of highly publicized child rape cases in which the defendants were widely seen as receiving lenient sentences has outraged South Koreans, who have called for tougher penalties for sex crimes, including the castration of repeat offenders....

Officials want to expand the sentencing limit for sex crimes, which is currently 15 years or less for most offenses. Lawmakers are exploring the legality of chemical castration and are reviewing ways to expand the offender database.

Sex crimes -- especially those against children -- are on the rise in South Korea, according to police statistics, leading many activists to question the government's commitment to punishing repeat offenders.

The number of sex abuse victims under age 6 alone has exceeded 150 a year for the last three years, according to data from the National Police Agency.

For the first seven months of this year, only 40% of the approximately 6,000 suspects investigated for child sex abuse were prosecuted. Of those convicted, less than 1% received life sentences. Nearly half got off with fines and 30% received suspended terms, according to government statistics....

Activists say the government needs to get tough on offenders. "It's sad that people take this issue seriously only when media coverage comes out," said Choi Da-eun, manager of Child Watch Korea in Seoul. "These crimes happen every day. The number of child sex crime cases is on the rise. Not only cases involving girls are rising, but those involving boys are increasing over the years."

Jang Se-yeon, a nurse at the Seoul Sunflower Children Center, which treats abused children, said many victims distrust a justice system in which so few reported child abuse cases end with charges being filed. "People aren't sure whether the offender will be punished or not," she said. "That just increases their anguish."

Comments

This country in its infancy on this problem should have the luxury of disecting other countries to implement a workable solution of punishment. They should take the harshest repercussions of sex crimes that any nation has devised thus far and make them law!

Posted by: Valigator | Oct 10, 2009 10:56:15 AM

Another Korean Pedophile gets a light term for raping his own 8 year-old daughter. http://www.youseok.wordpress.com